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Ah, Arceus, one of those guys, Rhys cursed silently. He should have expected more of this sort of thing, in hindsight, than what he'd really experienced so far.
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His Crobat had taken out the Iron Valiant, at last, but the Bundle waddling toward Rhys was looking like more than the bat could handle - and it was already looking worse for the wear after prolonged fighting. He could call out another pokemon, but would that be quick enough to beat either side of the Paradox beasts rushing him during the lapse?
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He hated taking chances.
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"Hell if I know!" he called down to the other man. "I don't have money!"
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An arc of electricity snapped into the wall too close to him for comfort.
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"I'll tell everybody I come across for the next month how you saved my neck, how's that? But it's predicated on you actually saving my neck!"
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The only thing saving Rhys's neck right now - and that of the woman he was currently attempting to cover (him, a bona fide nerd, holding off a gaggle of pokemon, ha) - is the fact that the group of Brute Bonnets is sizeable enough to be a problem but not sizeable enough to be overwhelming.
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With the Haze working in their favor, Rhys is able to direct his Crobat in cutting down any of the walking fungi that get too close to their position - though some calls are closer than others, he has a system going. He just hopes that they'll have a way out before more pokemon are drawn to the scuffle, or he really doesn't know what he'll be doing then.
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Glancing over to see what progress Nenet has made, he finds his shoulders sagging in relief as she pulls the machine from the ground. That's their professional lives given leave to continue, now they just need to see about their biological ones.
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Her next move has his jaw dropping. "Holy shit," he articulates as the Celesteela manifests. Scrambling forward - he's not going to stop and ask twice - he clambers onto the free arm, leaning over to shout at Nenet, "You've gotta be kidding me!"
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Apparently she wasn't, as the thing launched into the air of its own propulsion. It's like we're blasting off, he thought giddily to himself as the brawling pokemon grew smaller and smaller. He only hoped he wouldn't ever find himself in a future situation where he'd have to blast off again, at least. This was murder on the arms.
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He hadn't come in through the tunnels, he'd come in around the back of the trailhead, so Rhys had somehow found himself now dealing with the holy trinity of wrenches being thrown into his mission: unfamiliar terrain, a herd of angry pokemon pursuing him, and a one-eyed crazy person accusing him of crimes that he didn't even have proof of!
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Although, Rhys supposed that if the other guy did know some of what Rhys had done over the past few years, he'd be throwing something bigger than rocks.
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He almost did a double take as he saw the first stone hit the ground in front of him, then another. "You've got to be kidding me," he panted lowly, rounding a corner in the tunnel and coming face to face with a half-formed stalagmite directly in front of him. Unable to slow down, he vaulted over it, landing with a thud that he was sure he'd be feeling in his legs and back for the next week.
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"Better watch that arm!" He yelled, though the din of the pursuing pokemon was loud enough, now, that he had no idea whether he'd be heard or not. Screw it, it felt good anyway. "I can fix a torn rotator cuff, I can't fix stupid!"
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He'd undergone more physical training in the almost-year he'd been part of Rocket than he had in the past five put together, but at his core Rhys had to admit he was not built for strength or stamina. If he started flagging, he'd be far more closely acquainted with these creatures than he'd gambled on.
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Another zig-zag of the tunnel, and then - light? Was that the other side? This was too claustrophobic for him to hide, evade, fight back, or anything other than flee, but if he could make it into the open space, he might solve both of his problems at once with a little time.
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Wheeling back from one of the Brute Bonnets that had ventured too close to him, Rhys can't offer much more than a grateful grunt at Nenet's response, his Crobat barely saving his neck with an AIR SLASH that tore the offending fungus in two.
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The haze seemed to be working, at least enough for Solrock and Crobat to be picking off one of the Paradox pokemon here and there, but a low series of noises from deeper along the trail has Rhys's heart lurching into his throat. He nods to Nenet - "Go, I've got your back." and calls to his Crobat, "Finish the poisoned ones, time's up!"
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The Crobat screeches in response and proceeds to vomit a stream of viscous liquid that splatters onto a Brute Bonnet, already ill from poison, and promptly melts it into a smelly slough against the ground. Even fighting for his life, Rhys did enjoy a good VENOSHOCK.
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Rhys grins, vindicated, as his Goodra breaks the stalemate he's in with a DRAGON PULSE that sends the Great Tusk staggering back. His brief satisfaction is quickly soured as - at least with an apology - his companion stirs up a sandstorm around them.
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He can't fault the guy, he's used similar tactics on missions down here, but it doesn't make the stinging particles any more pleasant to deal with. Fortunately, the swarm of Paradox pokemon surrounding them are suffering the same deficits, and Vaughn takes the opportunity to send a pair of Scream Tails sailing away in a torrent of MUDDY WATER.
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"Good call," he grunts to the other man, "Now we just gotta get these things away from the rig before it dies down. Practically a normal Tuesday at this point.

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Pleased with the capture of the Koffing - and his Alakazam's ability to hold back against an outclassed opponent, which he was certain would come in handy somehow even if he couldn't quite come up with a viable scenario at this particular juncture - Rhys nearly tripped over a small obstruction on his path, drawing back as he saw the small purple shape sitting in the middle of the walkway.
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He peered at the Toxel unscrupulously, and the small pokemon stared back with a blank gaze, blinking slowly. "Hey there, little fella, are you lost?" The Toxel responded with a loud coo, blowing a purple bubble that drifted a few inches before popping in a small wisp of smoke.
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Rhys stared at the spot where the bubble popped, then back to the Toxel, who was currently occupied making grabby-hands at the irritable man. Alakazam eyed the tiny pokemon suspiciously, but Rhys stood and shook his head decisively. "Nope. Don't even think about it. I'm fairly sure you could be brought up on charges."
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He was nearly out of Safari Balls, but this was a wise choice to make, and besides - he thought as he tossed the ball - it didn't seem as though the small thing had any family to miss it.

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Perfect, Rhys thought to himself with a grin as the next pokemon to cross his path revealed itself.
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As a general rule, Rhys was careful about which pokemon he displayed when he was on duty with the public - he didn't necessarily have any social skills that came to mind in a positive way, but he'd heard from previous patients and colleagues that he had a friendly, easygoing manner, and that wasn't a boat he wanted to especially rock.
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A pokemon like Koffing offered virtually nothing positive to the environment around it, let alone in a professional medical setting, but Rhys couldn't help that he'd always been fascinated by Poison-types, and that fascination had carried on into various side projects in his current capacity.
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With this philosophy in mind, he glanced to Alakazam, lifting an eyebrow. "Please don't kill it," he murmured. Alakazam let out a soft scoff, as if to say 'no promises', and fired a SHADOW BALL that burst against the Koffing, sending it spiraling to the ground in a twisting miasma of smoke.
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Rhys wasted no time in throwing a Safari Ball, snapping the fallen pokemon up in a beam of red light. "Thank you," he quipped dryly.

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"Rhys Collins?"
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He faltered a little, caught on his narrow ledge. No way forward, no way back, and now the abyss was literally calling his name. Granted, he'd been there before, in a metaphorical sense, but he could hear his name clear as day. "Not today, Giratina!" he bit out, leaning out just enough to glare disapprovingly into the drop below.
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Oh, there was another stretch of cave on the level below him. And a man that looked almost as pissed off as he was. "At your service," he shot back wryly. "caden maher, I presume?"
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Crobat scored a lucky CROSS POISON on the Iron Valiant, causing it to slam into the wall, metallic surface hissing. Rhys glanced back, noting that the waddling sumo-looking things now sparked with electricity.
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He peered down at his companion, more irritated at his situation now than in actual fear of his life. "Boxed in up here, a little help?"
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Dancing back out of the way of one of the Brute Bonnets swiping at him with a vine, Rhys allows himself brief vindication as he catches Nenet grumbling under her breath - at least he wasn't the only one exasperated with everything in this place trying to kill him.
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His Crobat swings its wings forward, catching two of the Brute Bonnets with a violent slash of CROSS POISON that hisses angrily against their flesh, causing them to retreat. Backing up, he finds himself nearly on top of Nenet, offering a wry smile.
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"No idea. I don't know how popular you are with the brass, but I'm not exactly in a position to be confident of my ability to walk if I came back with a report like that." He pauses, considering briefly, and added, "Lovely to meet you, incidentally." Manners, Rhys.
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Although Crobat and Solrock are holding their own against decidedly superior numbers, it's clear that the two of them alone aren't liable to hold out against the cluster of pokemon encroaching on their position for much longer. "Are you opposed to a little tricky fighting?" he inquires, snapping his fingers.
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Above, his Crobat wheels around at the signal, spewing forth a thick HAZE that blankets the immediate area. Thin enough to see through in a pinch, but heavy enough for the Brute Bonnets to have trouble negotiating - exactly what he'd hoped for.
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What had started as a routine excursion for Rhys had developed into an absolute swarm of the pointy poison pufferfish he'd painstakingly planned to poke and prod.
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As it stood, he'd managed to get one or two venom samples before things turned into a veritable splatfest, all manner of ichor and slime staining the beachside around him as the pokemon grew restlessly out of control.
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He moved cautiously toward another specimen as his Reuniclus zapped at any of the Overqwil that grew too particularly aggrieved at Rhys's intrusion, but to his consternation he couldn't quite get close enough before his target either bounced into the water or another relative of the damned fish toddled into his way.
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Irritated, he slung a pokeball from his satchel. If he couldn't get another clean sample from this lot, perhaps he'd be able to take one back to the lab for more detailed analysis.
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Finding himself in Area Zero once again was something Rhys supposed he shouldn't be surprised at. If he were being realistic, he ought to be more surprised that he was stuck between a sheer rock wall and a drop into some unknown depths of the sparkling-crystal hell, actually having to duck some kind of robotic Gardevoir's blade while his Crobat flapped madly above the thing's head.
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Day in the life, at this point, really.
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He'd come down as assigned to meet yet another Rocket he hadn't encountered before - and really, couldn't it be said that he was making acquaintances, now, if nothing else? - and instead of finding another person to do some light recon with, he'd found a nest of pokemon that looked like they might have been more at home in some kind of factory.
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His foot slipped off the edge of the narrow walkway, and a zing of fear snatched it back, the doctor plastering himself to the wall as he tried to edge across to the other side where his Crobat and the Iron Valiant were scuffling. The way he'd come from was off-limits; rotund things with enormous metal hands were wandering too closely to his exit path for comfort.
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What a pickle.
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A whistle sounded behind him, causing Rhys to duck and just barely avoid being clawed by a strangely-colored Bombirdier. He looked around in alarm, attempting to locate his airborne assailant.
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Fortunately, Alakazam was not nearly as disoriented, glaring up at the offending avian and launching a SHADOW BALL that slammed into the bird; though the blow seemed to have little effect, it startled the Bombirdier into dropping a handful of heavy rocks from its payload, causing Rhys to take another step to the side as they came thudding down to earth.
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"Watch that, would you? Some of us are trying to walk."
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Alakazam offered a dry sniff, sending another SHADOW BALL at the bird, who neatly swooped around it, apparently decided that the pair below were more trouble than they were worth, and wheeled off into the distance.
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Rhys sent a sideways glance to his Alakazam, though a rueful smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Moving on..."

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